Virginia's Move to Slash Voter-List Prices Was Long Overdue

The sudden shift brings the Commonwealth's election department closer to the spirit and the letter of the National Voter Registration Act.

The National Voter Registration Act mandates that voting records be available to the public or qualified groups at a “reasonable” cost.

Federal court rulings in Illinois, Maryland, and Virginia from 2012 (Project Vote/Voting for America, Inc. v. Long) have affirmed the intent of section 8 of the NVRA. It says:

States “shall make available for public inspection and, where available, photocopying at a reasonable cost, all records concerning the implementation of programs and activities conducted for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of official lists of eligible voters.”

As a small nonprofit, EPEC Team pays, on average, between $20,000 and $30,000 a year on voter-list access for our educational and voter-participation mission, depending on the number of elections scheduled.

For years, civic participation groups have asked: How are those costs reasonable?

Now, Virginia’s Department of Elections has apparently responded by reducing the cost of voter lists for purchase by 90 percent.

“The cost reduction is intended to make the information more accessible to those qualified to purchase such lists under the Code of Virginia in an effort to promote transparency,” the release from the Department of Elections says.

The available information includes lists of registered voters, newly registered voters, and lists of those who voted. Under Virginia law, state voter data is available for purchase by candidates for office, political action committees and political parties. A full list of the information available and those qualified to purchase can be found online. >> Virginia Dept. of Elections: Client Services

The changes go into effect on July 1.

Prices are calculated based on the amount of information requested.

Once the price is calculated using current methods, the cost to the purchaser will be reduced by 90 percent. For example, a statewide list of registered voters that currently costs $6000 would be reduced to $600.

This is great news for small nonprofits such as EPEC and EPEC Team volunteers, partners, and clients who have stepped up to donate funds to help pay for the data.

It also means candidates, political parties, Political Action Committees (PACs), nonprofit organizations like ours, and other civic groups will be paying prices that one might agree are more reasonable.

A Change in Step with The Digital Era

After Congress passed the NVRA in 1993, voter lists were delivered on printed pages to voter-participation groups. That may have justified charging for the time and materials to produce physical copies. Not now.

Today, voting records are delivered via a data pull, packaged in an email, and fulfilled with a click on an encrypted link that starts a file download.

That click would cost a qualified voter-participation group in Virginia just under $6,000. Now, that charge is $600.

Monthly updates for statewide lists were priced at $3,600 for six-month subscriptions. That charge is coming down as well, depending on the size of the voter list, such as by locality or for statewide maintenance lists.

The unofficial list of statewide early voting records (the Daily Absentee List) starts at $760 for one election cycle. As of July 1, the DAL will cost $76.

The official record of Virginia’s General Election, such as the contest in November, a critical record for all voter participation groups, was priced at $5,800. Other voting records average between $5,000 and $6,000 for statewide data.

The new formula from the Dept. of Elections' charges can be seen here.

The reduced pricing structure places Virginia closer to the lower end of voter-list costs compared with other states, such as $500 in West Virginia, $125 in Maryland, $20 in Pennsylvania, and $2 in the District of Columbia. Many states such as North Carolina charge zero.

Slashing the cost of voter files also places Old Dominion among states that observe the NVRA by promoting reasonable voter-list access -- the heart of trusted elections in an open, representative republic.

EPEC Team applauds the decision to make voter-file costs reasonable, transparent, and aligned with both the letter and the spirit of the NVRA. #